Trouble
by iB3LIEVE
Summary: Danny keeps getting in trouble with his parents, teachers, and ghosts. Poor, sleep-deprived Danny can't stay awake anymore. What will his teacher and parents think? What can he possibly tell them without them knowing that he's lying? Will his best friends and sister be able to help out our favorite halfa or will he have to deal with the problem himself? (A little DXS)
1. Chapter 1

**I was inspired to write this because I tend to stay up really late...although my situation isn't nearly as dramatic as Danny's, I was still pretty tired. Tired enough to seriously have to force my eyes open! Rated for mild language(;**

**I don't own Danny Phantom! **

* * *

Danny Fenton sat in Mr. Lancer's english class in the back of the classroom. He was writing furiously as the teacher came around to pick up everyone's homework. To Danny's ears, his pencil sounded like it was stabbing his homework that was resting on the desk; the homework that he hadn't finished the night before. Actually, he hadn't even _started _it. He had missed so many assignments and hadn't been doing all the great in school already. His parents had threatened to ground him if he failed to turn in any more assignments or if he managed to get in trouble with any teachers. Danny _would've_ done the homework, but he was just so busy fighting ghosts for the past few months! If his parents grounded him, he wouldn't have the excuse of going to Tucker or Sam's house-while he was truly out fighting ghosts! Danny was desperately trying to keep his eyes open. While he should've been mainly focusing on the page in front of him, most of his concentration was on keeping his eyelids from closing.

"Mr. Fenton?"

Danny slowly lifted his head to look at his teacher, "Yes, Mr. Lancer?"

The man's gaze rested on Danny's homework; his face clearly disappointed, "See me after class."

Danny let his eyes fall back onto his paper as he mumbled, "Yes, sir."

Mr. Lancer strode away, leaving Danny's unfinished homework on the desk while the rest of his students papers were in his hands. _Another missing assignment_, thought Danny glumly, _that was strike three. _Mr. Lancer began his daily lesson to the class as Danny could feel his sleep-deprived mind drifting away, only to snap his attention back to the teacher right before his eyes completely closed.

Poke.

Danny's eyes slowly found their way to where the poke had come from. Sam. She looked at him worriedly, 'You okay?' she mouthed silently.

He gave her an unconvincing smile and nodded; him still struggling to keep his eyes open. She gave him a disapproved frown and sighed, turning away.

Poke.

Danny turned to the opposite side to see Tucker, 'You look awful!' he mouthed in the same way Sam had.

Danny gave him a sarcastic smile, 'Thanks." He mouthed.

"_Mr. Fenton!"_

His head immediately popped up to see the teacher giving him a death-glare from the front of the class, "Are you honestly talking in the middle of class...right after you already got into trouble?"

Of course, Mr. Lancer _had_ to see the one time he mouthed something. _That's my life_, he thought miserably. The thought just made him slump in his desk sadly. He didn't know how to respond to the teacher, so Danny just remained silent.

"That's a demerit, Danny." Danny nodded slowly, not meeting the teacher's eyes. Mr. Lancer gave a brief look of annoyance, almost disgust, and returned to the lesson. Danny gave in to his eyes and let them close. He protected this town and its people every day. He hid his identity every day. He got hurt every day. He had to play the role of the nerd at school, and allow himself to get beat up every day. He fought ghosts every day. He got three hours of sleep at the very _most_ every day. (Although, the night before he had gotten none at all.) He got yelled at every day; whether it's one of his teachers or his parents. Sometimes he felt like he couldn't take it anymore.

Poke.

He subtly shook his head to show Tucker that he couldn't talk. How was he supposed to go on patrol without his parents coming and checking on him? After school, every day, Danny would go home and tell his parents that he was going to Sam or Tuck's house to work on homework. Jazz knew what he was really going to do: fight ghosts. His two best friends helped him often, but he never let them stay helping him after 10:00 or 11:00. He smirked to himself, 'I_t's like I'm their parent or something_,' he thought. He had told Sam and Tucker he stayed up late, but they didn't know just _how little_ sleep he got.

"Danny?"

He looked up tiredly into his best friends' faces.

"The bell rang, Danny." Sam said as she searched his face with concern.

Danny looked around and noticed that most of the students had already left, "Oh." He grabbed his stuff and heaved himself to his feet in exhaustion. Every step closer to the door was hard. It was as if every time he put his full weight on one leg to go forward, he would collapse with his lack of sleep. Danny was almost out the door when Mr. Lancer's voice stopped him, "Mr. Fenton, Come here."

He tiredly made his way over to the desk. Mr. Lancer looked at Sam and Tucker waiting for him near the door, "You two can leave. This is just between Daniel and I."

Danny could see them hesitate; their faces anxious. He gave them a smile as if saying that he'd be okay. Sam and Tucker reluctantly left Danny alone with Mr. Lancer.

"Danny, you've failed to turn in multiple assignments. And when you have managed to, they're sloppily done or incomplete."

The boy sighed and nodded his head.

"Take a seat; you look like you're going to fall over." The man sounded nonchalant, but Danny could detect some concern in his voice.

Danny gladly took his recommendation and collapsed into one of the two seats near his desk.

"Are you getting enough sleep?"

He opened his mouth but nothing came out. His eyes drooped, but he kept them open. He could say that he wasn't sleeping enough, but what could he say he was doing? Playing video games? That just would make him sound irresponsible. He couldn't tell him he was out patrolling the city for ghosts!

Mr. Lancer quirked an eyebrow, "It's a simple question, young man. Are you getting enough sleep?"

"Uh...yeah." Danny's exhausted voice sounded pitiful, even to himself.

"That was probably the worst lie I've ever heard. Have you seen yourself?"

Danny shrugged.

"Don't just shrug at me! Do you feel like you're getting enough sleep?"

The boy hesitated, but he slowly shook his head.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. I can tell." He said harshly. "What's causing you to not get enough sleep?"

Danny's throat suddenly felt dry, and he swallowed, "I can't sleep I guess..." _Awful excuse_, he berated himself. He closed his eyes and didn't notice that he was barely starting to fall forward in the chair. Danny just about fell asleep and out of his chair when a hand stopped him. He pried his eyes open and noticed his teacher's worried gaze on him.

"I don't usually suggest this when a student is behind on sleep, but I think you should go home."

Mr. Lancer's words seemed to take a couple seconds before Danny processed what he had said, "What? No! I don't need to go home."

"You just about fell out of your chair, Mr. Fenton." His eyebrows furrowed together.

"No I didn't." Danny's eyes were half-open.

Mr. Lancer had a baffled expression on his face, "You certainly _almost_ did. But, I won't make you go home if you don't think you need to." He studied his student to see if the boy would come to his senses. Danny didn't notice that of course though.

"Okay." And with that, Danny lurched out of the chair and made his way out of the classroom with his eyes barely open.

* * *

He bumped into someone outside of the class. Tucker grabbed his shoulders and shook him, "Why didn't you go home? That was, like, a free-card! You could go home to sleep and eat!" Of _course_ that's what he thinks of first.

"My parents will get suspicious, Tuck."

"Well, they'll also get suspicious if you pass out at school." Sam said bluntly, crossing her arms.

"I won't pass out." Tucker let go of his shoulders and made his way to his locker. Or...tried to. It was as if Danny couldn't walk straight. He was still walking while leaning against the lockers. He ran into a girl who was getting her stuff out of a locker. She yelped in surprise and her papers flew from her hands as Danny tumbled to the floor.

"Danny, really. You shouldn't be at school. And it's a good thing that most students are already in class right now." Sam informed him while he remained on the ground. She paused, "Need a hand?" she extended her pale hand. He grabbed it clumsily and managed to get to his feet. Sam led Danny to his locker from behind; her hands on his shoulders. Once they were in front of it, Sam stopped. Danny didn't move, though; his eyes were closed.

"Wow. When's the last time we've seen Mr. Uptight so relaxed?" Tucker said from behind Sam.

She sighed, "He's not relaxed, Tucker. He's half out of it. He's not all here."

"I am too." Danny turned around and gave them a glare, but it didn't have the same effect considering it was dazed. His shaking hands fumbled at the lock to his locker. He tried it three times. "Damnit." he mumbled.

Sam gestured for Tucker to stand beside Danny while she unlocked it for him.

"My parents are going to be pissed at me..." He moaned as he started swaying.

Tucker caught him before he could fall, Sam looked behind her, anxious for her best friend/crush, then went back to his locker to grab what he needed for history class. Tucker laughed lightheartedly, "Aw, c'mon, man. Your parents can't get _that_ mad. Everyone gets in trouble sometimes."

"Try getting in trouble with your teacher, parents, and multiple ghosts every day." Danny hadn't meant to say that out loud, but he ended up muttering it under his breath.

"Your parents?" Sam asked confused.

"Mmhmm."

"Because of school?" Tucker guessed.

"Yep."

Danny never revealed that much while he was completely awake. They knew this, and they were going to take advantage of it. "Danny, how much sleep _are_ you getting?" Sam asked in a suspicious tone; her eyes narrowing.

"Uh, I'm not sure. I don't think I got any last night...or the night before...after that, I don't remember." Danny was giving more and more of his weight up; leaving Tucker to support his best friend.

"Dude, I've known you since first grade, and Sam's known you since third. We both know that you can't go very long without sleep. I'm pretty sure two days with no sleep at all isn't your best idea. What are you doing all night? Playing Doomed again?"

"I wish..." Danny whimpered. He surrendered the last of his weight and Tucker yelped.

"Sam!"

Sam whisked around, and together, her and Tucker managed to keep their best friend from hitting the floor again. They carefully lowered their friend to the ground. Sam carefully removed her hand from the back of his head and pressed her hands over her face, "He has to go home, Tuck."

"Your boyfriend is a stubborn one." He said giving Sam a mischievous grin.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Her face flushed and she looked down at Danny's face. Not that she would mind that...

* * *

**Okay... Should I end it? Or should I keep going? Review please!(:**


	2. Chapter 2

**Oh my goshhh! You guys are SO awesome!:D Thank you for the sweet reviews!:3**

**I don't own Danny Phantom... (Kinda obvious)**

* * *

The halls were deserted; class had already started. With their best friend asleep on the ground, Sam and Tucker had to act fast. Mr. Lancer was free that period, and if he happened to stroll out into the hall, he would see Danny on the floor. Although Sam knew that he needed to go home, she would respect his decision to stay at school. Danny was positive that if he went home, his parents would somehow figure out his secret. Normally, she would force him to go home in his state of health, but if it had to do with his secret; it was his call. She scanned the halls one more time before leaning back down over him, "_Danny._"

No response.

"Tucker?" She said with a sigh.

"I got this, Sam." Tucker started 'patting' Danny's face- harder each time...Until it was just about a slap.

Sam was about to punch Tucker for doing such an irrational thing, but she stopped once seeing Danny's baby blue eyes pry open. His eyes weren't as bright as usual and they were bloodshot. He just stared past them as if they weren't hovering over him.

"Ooh! I've got an idea!" Tucker ran across the hall to the soda vending machine. He pulled a dollar out of his pocket and inserted it. Sam watched as he pressed the button for coke; the sticky button clicking once he applied pressure. A sudden _thump_ came from the machine as the coke dropped to the bottom. Tuck pulled out the soft drink and made his way back over to Sam and Danny. The air hissed out of the bottle once he twisted the cap, "Danny," he said in a sing-song voice to his best friend, "Look. I got you some coke if you're up for it." He waved the bottle slightly so that it caught Danny's attention.

His sluggish gaze locked on the coke in Tucker's hands. Danny hauled himself into a sitting position and gratefully took the bottle after thanking Tuck tiredly. He began drinking the coke as fast as he could when Sam stopped him.

"You're going to make yourself sick! Slow down, you moron." She smirked at him. They helped Danny to his feet as he was finishing the very last of his coke. He was finally beginning to wake up. Danny grabbed his binder from his locker, which was still hanging wide open, and the three set off for history class.

"Just one thing." Danny said stopping. He walked over and bought two more cokes. He handed one of them to Sam so she could give it to him later when he would desperately need another energy boost.

* * *

Danny, Sam, and Tucker were all sitting at their table. Yes, it's their table because _they're_ the only ones that ever sit there. Tucker was slowly eating a burger and Sam was slowly eating a salad as the two stared worriedly at their best friend. Danny had drank two cokes in history class, and now he had nothing but three empty bottles in front of him. A half empty one was in his hand; the dark liquid was visibly trembling along with Danny. His hands had gone from shaky due to sleep deprivation...to _extra_ shaky due to the lack of sleep plus the sugar rush on top of that. Sometimes his eye even twitched.

"So, Danny..." Sam began cautiously, "How are you?"

He gave her the best smile he could; although it really resembled a bizarre grimace. Danny began talking at an amazingly fast pace, "I feel great! Minus the fact that I feel like I'm going to either explode or fall over at any moment. I can't decide how I really feel. I need to keep drinking coke. Well, it doesn't have to be coke. Just anything with caffeine. Although, coke works the best. I think. My family can't find out about this, so I need to stay awake. How many classes do we have next? Two or three?" He took a swig of his coke and he finished the very last of it, "I need more coke!"

Standing up out of his chair, Danny had only taken half of a step when Tucker's hand stopped him, "Dude, I think you need to chill out."

"Chill out about what?" Jazz, Danny's older sister, had noticed her little brother acting strange. And she had only glanced over at them from across the cafeteria.

Danny gave a wide, cheeky smile, "Exactly! Chill out about what, Tucker?" He asked turning to Tucker. Danny picked up his empty coke bottles with shaking hands and left his friends and sister staring after him.

"Jazz, what's his problem? We know he stays up late, but...for him to be this bad? It's gone too far." Sam was talking to her in complete seriousness.

Jazz sighed, "I keep asking him, but he won't tell me." She said while glancing at her little brother at the soda vending machine for the millionth time, "But, I hear him come home early morning just about every day..."

"How early?" Tucker inquired.

Jazz shook her head sadly, "After I wake up for school."

Sam rubbed her temples, "Well, he needs more sleep. Because his whole situation right now isn't really working out."

"Because he's so anxious?"

"That, and he almost passed out a couple times today." Sam informed her. "One time he actually did." She rolled her eyes.

Hearing this news made Jazz sad, "Little brother..." she murmured under her breath as she watched Danny make his way back over to them.

He sat down and twisted the cap open. He was about to take a sip when he noticed all three of them staring at him intently, "What?" Danny asked suspiciously as his eyes narrowed. His trembling hand was beginning to bother him as he held the bottle in mid-air. Jazz noticed.

"Danny..." Her sad tone and eyes made him give all of his..._available_ attention to her. She looked at his pale face and dark circles underneath his eyes and how dull they were.

"What's wrong?"

"Little bro, in case you haven't noticed, you haven't been getting enough sleep."

"Oh, I've noticed..." he assured her.

Jazz smiled sadly and ruffled his hair, "Go to sleep early tonight."

"But, Jazz-"

"Danny. Go to sleep..._early_ tonight. Got it?" she searched his face in utter seriousness.

"But, I need to-"

"Danny. _Promise_ me."

"Why?!"

"Please."

Danny looked at his sister strangely. Eventually he whispered cautiously, "But, the ghosts..."

"I think Valerie can handle it tonight. You work a hell of a lot harder than Valerie on a daily basis. Maybe a night without Danny Phantom will prove to her that this town _does_ need you."

A huge grin slowly grew on his face, "Thanks, Jazz."

* * *

Jazz had allowed Sam and Tucker to come along home with them after listening to some irritating begging after school. The four got out of Jazz's car and started to walk up to Fenton Works. Danny was leaning on Jazz with his eyes half open as they walked up the sidewalk. His sugar rush had definitely crashed. Tucker and Sam were trailing right behind them. They had witnessed the two siblings fight plenty of times before, and Sam and Tucker had claimed that they were lucky to be only children. At times like these, however, they took those words back. After climbing up the stairs to the front door, Jazz took out her keys to unlock the door that her parents insisted to be locked at all times. (Even when they were home.)

She placed her rattling keys back into her purse and pushed the door open, "Mom, dad! We're home!"

Her mom's voice rang out clearly from the kitchen, "Oh, okay! How was your day, sweetie?"

"Good." Came Jazz's automatic response.

"That's good! What about you, Danny?"

"Fine." Danny's voice was barely audible as he leaned against Jazz's bony shoulder.

She knew that her mother hadn't heard him, "He said fine, mom!" Danny had already told Jazz that he didn't want their parents to know how he was deprived of sleep.

"That's great, honey! Jazz, would you be a dear and tell Danny to head down to the lab to help your father?"

"Uh..." she glanced at her little brother who was hardly awake, "He had a long day..."

"It'll only take a second!"

Jazz turned around to face Sam and Tucker, "Guys, I'll go do what Danny's supposed to do. You take him upstairs." She left to go help her father downstairs in the lab.

Sam and Tucker started to slowly ascend the stairs with Danny in between them. After opening his bedroom door, they helped him over to the bed so that Danny could flop facedown onto it. Once he landed, he didn't move, and the room was silent for a minute.

"Well, that was a long process." Sam stated while smirking at the back of Danny's head.

"Time for a snack." Tucker announced as he swung his backpack onto the floor and unzipped it. Tucker was fishing through his bag for food, Danny was pretty much asleep, and Sam was still smirking at her two friends amusedly, when a deep voice sounded that made Tucker halt his searching.

_"Hello, ghost child."_

* * *

**Should I keep going or leave it a cliffy story? Please review for me!(:**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks again to all the reviews, follows, and favorites! You guys make me so happy when I read your reviews!:D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. (Do I really have to say that every time? I mean, I'm pretty sure no one thought I was...never-mind...)**

* * *

"So, Dad, what'd you need?" Jazz asked sweetly while leaning on a table in the lab.

"Jazzy-pants? I thought I asked for Danny. This is a manly job!" The father of the Fenton family, Jack, told his daughter.

Jazz rolled her eyes, "I think I can handle whatever it is, Dad..." _Gosh why are people so sexist sometimes?_ Jazz asked herself, w_omen are just as good as men._

_"_So, you _want_ to shave my back?" Jack asked, bewildered.

"Oh, _gross_, Dad! Ew, no!" _Didn't see that one coming_, Jazz threw her hands over her face.

He patted her on the back, "See? What did I tell you? Now go get your brother."

Jazz, while trying to keep from gagging, ran back up the stairs to the kitchen.

Her mom was cooking, _more like attempting to cook_, dinner as she stood in front of the stove. Maddie turned around, "Jasmine? What were you doing down in the lab?" She pulled off her teal hood and red goggles, allowing her short hair to settle around her face.

Jazz winced. _I could tell her that he had a long day maybe,_ she thought to herself._ No, Tucker and Sam are here, which would make her suspicious._

"Honey?"

"Oh! Well, you see, Danny had a proj-" Jazz was cut short as a series of loud crashes came from the floor above.

"What on earth?!" Maddie exclaimed as she headed for the stairs.

Jazz ran out in front of her mother to stop her, "Mom! I need to show you a paper I wrote!"

"Jazz, not now. I need to go check on your brother."

More crashes and rumbling.

Jazz stayed frozen where she was.

"Move, sweetie!" Maddie took her daughter by the shoulders and moved her aside in annoyance.

"Mom, stop! Danny is doing a project! He's...making an action movie with Sam and Tucker!"

"So that makes it okay to damage the house?"

"Um...yes?" it came out more like a question rather than an answer.

Maddie pushed past her and started upstairs.

* * *

(A little bit before...)

Danny kicked his leg in a tantrum like way, "Ugh, Skulker! You show up at the worst times..." he mumbled into his pillow. Everyone was silent for a moment before Danny spoke again, "Can we do this later, maybe? Because, frankly, this isn't the best timing."

His request sounded so foreign coming out of the feisty boy they all knew.

"Actually, I think my timing is perfect, Whelp! I'm going to hang your pelt on my wall today." Skulker said with a sly smirk.

Sam and Tucker's faces twisted up in disgust.

Tucker spoke while his nose was still scrunched up, "No matter how many times you say that, it's always disturbing."

Skulker frowned for a second before his face showed pride, "It is only because you do not hunt. I will capture the ghost child and hang his pelt on my wall. For I am the ghost zone's greatest hunter!" He grabbed Danny by the shirt and heaved him off the bed.

Danny gasped as he heard his shirt rip, "Hey! This is-or _was_ my favorite shirt, you stupid hunk of metal!" Danny spat out furiously as the familiar white rings passed over him, transforming him into Danny Phantom.

Sam couldn't help but huff a laugh, "Danny, really, your closet is full of the same shirt."

"Yeah, man, you have, like, thirty of them!"

Danny ignored them as he tried to push his exhaustion away, aiming a punch at Skulker. The ghost was caught off guard and his metal head twisted around once as he let go of Danny. Skulker had a gun pop up from his wrist and began shooting at Danny, but the boy easily dodged the blasts as he brought his leg around in a roundhouse kick. Skulker rammed into his dresser and knocked it over; Danny cursing under his breath at the noise it made. He flew at the mechanical ghost, but was caught by the ankle in a bone-crushing metal fist before he could deliver a blow.

Skulker flung Danny into the wall, and was tackled by the ghostly teen hardly a second later.

Suddenly a voice came from outside his closed bedroom door, "Danny? What's going on in there?"

They stopped fighting.

It took a minute for Danny to find his voice, "N-nothing, mom! We were just-"

"Aren't you making an action movie in there?!" Jazz 'asked' a little too forcefully.

Danny looked at Skulker, and then Sam, and then Tucker, "Yeah..." He answered with some doubt.

"I'm coming in, okay?" Maddie announced as she began twisting the doorknob.

"No, no!" Danny flew over to the door and held onto the handle, "That's okay, mom! You'll ruin the illusion!"

She paused outside his room for several moments, "...What?"

He made a sound as if it were obvious, "The movie illusion! Sheesh, mom. Haven't you ever been in a movie?" Danny laughed nervously.

"...I guess not..."

"Exactly! Besides, we're not braking anything..." he said while glancing nervously around the room, "So just...let us continue our...acting...?" He glanced over at his friends with a shrug.

"Fine. But, I am going to check on you in a bit, so..."

Danny glared at Tucker as his friend started giggling from behind him, "Yeah, yeah. Okay, mom. This is due soon so I have to _hurry_," he emphasized on the 'hurry' to try to get his older sister to clue in on him wanting their mom away from his room.

"Mom, don't you have something on the stove?" he heard Jazz ask their mother through the door. _Thank the Lord that Jazz clues in on everything,_ Danny thought to himself.

"Oh, gosh! You're right!"

Danny sighed in relief as he heard his mom going back downstairs.

Jazz cracked the door open and peeked in, "Do you need any-"

She stopped speaking as Danny was tackled by a huge mechanical ghost. Skulker, (or Ghost-X in Jazz's mind,) picked Danny up by his ankle again, and squeezed it with as much strength he could muster with his metal hand. Danny grimaced and opened his mouth in silent pain. Skulker swung him into the wall, yet again, and watched as the teen slid to the floor. During normal circumstances, Danny would've hopped back up and fought. At the moment, however, being severely sleep deprived, wasn't helping the situation at all.

Danny blinked his eyes rapidly as he tried to clear his hazy mind, but the dark spots kept eating away at his vision. Suddenly, he remembered something. Danny pushed himself up as quickly as he could, and flew into his closet because he kept an emergency thermos at the very back behind his clothes. Seeing Skulker pursuing him, he quickly uncapped it and sucked him into the thermos. After putting the lid back on, he changed back to human and took a step forward on his right foot. That was a mistake.

With a short cry of pain, he collapsed to the floor.

"Danny?!" Jazz, Sam, and Tucker all exclaimed at the same time. _How did they do that...? _He wondered to himself.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked urgently.

"Nothing. I'm good." They didn't need to know about any more of his problems; they already knew of plenty. _Why drag them down with me?_

Sam looked at him skeptically, "We aren't idiots, you know."

"Yeah, dude." Tucker agreed and Jazz nodded along with them.

Danny gave a short laugh, "I know that you're not idiots, you guys! I would never-_ever-_think that!" He took a deep breath a stood up; gritting his teeth as he put a little weight on his right leg. Suddenly, exhaustion hit him like a brick wall once his adrenaline rush subsided, "I just want to go to bed."

Their glares softened and Sam took his hand and began leading him over to his bed.

Gritting his teeth, Danny tried not to limp, and put as much pressure on his ankle as it would take in order to hide it as well as he did. He tried to make it look like he was slightly stumbling out of exhaustion, and it obviously worked since no one said anything. Sitting down on the bed and taking his weight off of his ankle was like pure bliss. He rolled down the covers and got inside; pulling the blankets up to his chin.

"No pajamas?" Jazz asked.

"Screw pajamas." Danny mumbled.

Jazz laughed and ruffled his hair against the pillow, "Do you have any homework?"

Danny groaned pathetically at her question.

She laughed again, "I'll do it for you. Just this time, though!"

He smiled, but then it fell, "I haven't been...able to do much...homework lately. He'll get...suspicious." It was starting to get difficult for Danny to form complete sentences in his sleepy state.

"I'll do it _Danny-Style_." She stated simply while smirking at him.

"Thanks, Jazz." He whispered before he fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

**I think it's weird how Skulker has facial expressions...How can a metal face...ah, ****never mind. I just always found it funny. I wouldn't change it, but just think what that would look like in real life. O.o Anyways-I hope you like it. Please review for me! Every time I read one makes my day better!(:**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, guys! Not much to say, really. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. I just love it. :3**

* * *

Danny woke up to his alarm clock beeping repeatedly in an irritating way. He smacked his hand on the off button and pushed the oh-so-wonderful blankets off of him, making him shiver in the colder air of his bedroom. Danny swung his legs of the bed and leaned forward lazily. Pain shot up his leg and his eyes stretched wide as he allowed himself to fall to the floor just so that his weight wouldn't be causing him any more discomfort. _What the...?_ Danny was about to lift up his right pant leg when he remembered the events of the night before. He changed his mind. He didn't want to see his ankle.

Danny got to his feet and began to slowly make his way towards the bathroom. He tried to use his right leg as little as possible, therefore his walk was an obvious limp. Reaching the dresser, he leaned against it to give his ankle a break. _This is going to be a problem._

* * *

He slowly made his way down the stairs; using the stair handrail more than he ever had in his life. His sister was reading a book at the kitchen table while she slowly twirled her spoon in her soggy cereal. Danny stepped off the last step and carefully walked towards the table. The strides on his left foot lasted longer than the ones on his right. The ones on the right foot probably lasted for less than a second. "Hey, Jazz," Danny greeted his sister casually.

"Oh, hey!" She turned around to point to their backpacks resting near the front door, "I finished your homework." She then gave him a look that clearly repeated from last night, 'Just this time.'

That was Jazz: always following the rules. Well, now he had to say 'usually' because of the favor she did for him. "Thanks so much, Jazz! I could've never finished that." He stated sincerely.

She smiled, "No problem, little brother. But, seriously, you should get more sleep. Sleep deprivation isn't healthy for the human body, especially in adolescence. Also, _you_ overexert yourself outside of school during-"

She was cut off by Danny, "Blah, blah, blah. Okay, Jazz. You don't need to remind me that you're the smart one." He winked at her. Suddenly, Danny realized how quiet the house was, "Where're mom and dad?"

"They're still asleep, surprisingly. I think they were working on a new invention all night because I heard them down in the lab well into the night."

Danny nodded and his stomach growled. He was really hungry, but he didn't want to walk _all_ the way over to the fridge._ How am I going to last the day?_

Jazz had heard his stomach and laughed, "Go get breakfast, Danny." She was still smiling as her eyes fluttered back down to the pages of her book.

"Um..." Danny desperately thought of an excuse, "I'm not that hungry, actually." He said lamely.

She glanced at him curiously, "Uh, okay..." Jazz looked down at her watch, "We better get going. School starts in 30 minutes."

_For some reason_, Danny thought to himself, _she likes to get there super early. Is that what makes her grades so good?_

He was brought out of his thoughts as Jazz stood up and made her way to the front door, "Coming, Danny?"

He hesitated, "Uh...yeah..." Danny stood up and tried to walk normally this time since his sister was watching him. He kept his cries of pain under control as he subtly bit his tongue. Danny noticed Jazz's suspicious gaze and forced more of his weight on his right leg.

_Step. Ow. Step. Damn. Step. Shit._

He continued to bite the tip of his tongue as hard as he could as he smiled at his older sister, "Aren't you going to open the door?" He asked innocently.

She snuck another uncertain glance at him before she grabbed her backpack and opened the door. Danny sighed a breath of relief after picking up his backpack and began painfully walking to the car.

* * *

Danny and Jazz walked into Casper High. Every time Danny stepped on his right leg a _colorful_ word popped into his head. He trailed behind his sister so that she wouldn't see his grimaces. _Hey, who else is going to care in this place besides Sam and Tucker?_

"Are you okay, Danny?" Jazz asked as she got a binder from her locker.

"Yes, Jazz." He told her in an annoyed voice.

"Okay..." Jazz left him alone as she walked into her class for early-morning studying.

Down the hall, he saw his locker. Danny allowed himself to subtly limp. Once he reached his locker, Danny finished his locker combination and it creaked open. He was looking for the binder of his first class, when he heard a voice behind him.

"Yo, man, were you limping?"

Danny turned around to see his two best friends looking at him with concern, "No!" He realized he'd said it a little too quickly, "No. I wasn't." Danny tried to pull off a confused look and Tucker seemed to buy it.

"Okay. Just checking."

Danny wanted to pat himself on the back for his acting skills. Sam, however, stared at him with an analyzing expression.

"...Let's get to class early." She said after a moment of silence, and began walking towards their english classroom.

_More walking?!_ He walked slowly and carefully as opposed to his usual quick pace. The three of them usually all walked at similar speeds, so Tucker zoomed on ahead. But Sam noticed and fell in step with Danny.

"So...why're you walking so slow? Usually Tucker and I have to keep up with you." Sam's eyes narrowed.

"What? Am I not allowed to walk slower sometimes?"

Sam pursed her lips and they were silent all the way to the class.

* * *

His teachers were quite pleased when Danny turned in the homework. At the moment, him, Sam, and Tucker were making their way towards P.E. Sam left to go change in the girls' locker-room and Danny and Tucker headed to the boys' locker-room. Danny knew that they were going to have to change into gym shorts, so he put on socks that were longer than usual to hide his injury. He didn't even wan to know what it looked like; he had put the socks on with his eyes closed!

"Didn't Ms. Tetslaff say that we had to run a mile next week?" Tucker asked as he slipped his gym shirt on.

"Oh, crud. I forgot about that..." Danny muttered as they walked out of the boys' locker-room.

"Yeah. We start training today. She always announces stuff last minute. Right, dude?"

"She-"

Danny was cut off as Dash and Kwan walked up, "Hey, Fenturd!" Dash jeered.

Danny sighed, "What do you want, Dash?"

"Nice socks, dweeb!" He laughed with Kwan.

"Yeah! What are you trying to do? Prove that you're really a geek?" Kwan laughed and he and Dash high-fived.

Dash kicked his ankle to prove his point. And, _that's right_, the jerk kicked his bad ankle. Danny collapsed on the spot and the jocks laughed again, "Now he's a baby too! Aw, did the big handsome guy kick you?" Dash continued laughing.

Danny tried to soothe the pain with his hands which was, for the record, not working. He squeezed his eyes shut.

"Danny." Tucker whispered urgently, knowing that his best friend had to play 'geek' so that nobody ever found out his secret, "You're over-doing it a bit." He didn't know that Danny was being completely serious. Tucker saw a tear leak out one of Danny's tightly shut eyes and he immediately became horrified. Danny had a high pain tolerance. He never cried out of pain! Ever! And now, when Dash had simply kicked him, (pretty hard, but not enough to make him cry,) he was crying.

"Dude?!" Tucker whispered loudly in fear.

"What's going-" Sam had strode over to where the boys were, and she instantly noticed Danny. She dropped down to her knees beside Tucker and Danny, "What happened?" She asked in dead-serious voice.

"I-I don't know!" Tucker admitted, "Dash kicked him and-"

"Kicked him where?"

Tucker gave her a funny look, (probably thinking something else,) but answered Sam anyways, "His ankle. They were making fun of his socks."

A look of pure hate showed on her face as she glared at the two jocks, but once she brought her gaze back down to Danny, Sam's eyes immediately softened. She gently pried Danny's hands away from his ankle and rolled down his sock. Sam felt dizzy at the sight of it and Tucker face was full of horror. She looked up at Tucker, "I knew it." She stated grimly.

"Holy shit, Danny..." Tucker's voice slightly shook.

"Fenton?" Kwan stopped laughing and elbowed Dash to get his attention.

"What?" He looked down at Danny and his face grew considerably paler, "I didn't do that!"

* * *

**I wrote most of this at, like, 3 a.m. I know, I know. I'm going to have sleep problems like Danny... But I don't have the same excuse as him...(Although, that would be pretty awesome...) Anyways...Please review for me!:D**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, guys. Again, for the millionth time, thank you for the reviews, follows, and favorites!(:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. Surprise?! Ha, no.**

* * *

"What's going on?!" Ms. Tetslaff boomed. "Is Fenton being a weakling again, Baxter?" She asked with disdain.

"Actually," Sam spat as she glared at Dash, "Dash kicked him!"

"And what's the problem? Can he not handle a little kick?" Ms. Tetslaff asked with mockery.

Sam shifted so that the woman could see the problem.

"...Oh," she looked slightly nauseous, "Manson. Foley. Take him to the nurse." She paused, "And as for you, Baxter, you have to go to Saturday school for an entire month. Oh, and you're on lunch duty too." Ms. Tetslaff was disappointed that she had to punish her favorite athlete.

"But, Ms. Tetslaff! I had no idea that-"

He was cut off by the woman, "I don't want to hear it." She turned back to the three on the ground, "Take him to the nurse." Ms. Tetslaff repeated to Sam and Tucker. She couldn't show them how much his ankle had perturbed her because nothing was supposed to phase her. She was the strong gym coach that showed no mercy. She did, however, manage to remain calm at the sight of the boy's injury.

* * *

"This absolutely _sucks_," Danny hissed. He was between Tucker and Sam with his arms draped around their shoulders, trying to prevent putting any pressure on his ankle.

"Aw, c'mon, Danny. It could be worse. Everyone could've seen you change into Danny Phantom."

"Shut _up_, Tucker!" Sam practically growled at him, "Do you really want to make his day worse?"

"I wasn't trying to do that! I was _trying_ to do the opposite!"

"Yes. Because the entire school finding out his secret is obviously good." Sam said sarcastically.

"Well," the sass obvious in his voice, "because everyone is obviously listening intently to our conversation at the moment while they're IN CLASS!"

"Someone could be out in the hall right now!" Sam shot back at him, "And you want to risk letting the secret out?"

Tucker didn't reply that time, so the only sounds were the muffled teachers' voices behind the doors that lined the halls. The lights above shone down onto the shiny tiles underfoot; the reflections were rippled and distorted as their feet passed over them. Danny tried to walk on his bad leg so that his two best friends wouldn't have to bear any of his weight, but Sam noticed. _When does she not?_

"_DANNY_! I swear...if you're going to make this difficult..." She threatened darkly through her teeth.

"_Geez!_ Okay, okay!" He suspended his foot in the air, "Harsh..." He muttered.

"I heard that."

"You were meant to." Danny stuck his tongue out at her playfully as she sent him a scowl. Although he would trust his friends with anything in the world, Danny didn't want his friends to bear any weight of his responsibility involving ghost hunting. It was his problem, not theirs. He should be walking on his foot- it was his fault he got it in the first place! I_f only I had moved faster,_ he thought to himself. This was his fault, and now he had to depend on his friends' strength to get him to the nurse.

"Danny." Sam said seriously, bringing him out of his thoughts, "I know what you're thinking."

"And what might that be?" He attempted to smirk at her.

She shook her head slowly as she still faced ahead, "You think this is your fault."

Danny's semi-amusement instantly vanished. How did she know that?

Sam glanced over at Danny's bewildered face and laughed, "And no, I can't read minds."

"Yeah, man," Tucker spoke up again, "we've known you for forever, and your face is like an open book!" He attempted a self-loathing expression.

"Okay, if I look like that, I must look pretty depressed." Danny chuckled.

"He's really close to it, actually." Sam smiled. She looked over at Danny and blushed, which she prayed that he didn't notice, "Never-mind."

Danny failed to notice Tucker wiggle his eyebrows at Sam teasingly.

"There's the nurse's office, Danny." Sam announced.

"And this is where I take off!" Tucker stated nervously.

Danny slid his arm off Tucker's shoulders and put more weight on both of his feet.

"A few more steps isn't going to hurt you." Sam said disapprovingly to Tucker.

"Nah, it's fine, Sam." Danny limped into the nurse's office while still leaning on Sam. She willed herself not to blush at the close contact.

Sam shot Tucker a glare before he disappeared from her sight. As soon as they walked through the door, the nurse looked up.

"Oh, dear!" The petite woman stood up and hastily made her way over to the teens and pulled Danny's other arm around her shoulders as they made their way to the back of the room. "What happened this time?"

She was used to Danny coming in for medical attention. He had been coming in regularly for the past year. The lady could feel his uneven strides as he tried to walk on it, and all that earned Danny was a quick scolding as he lifted up his foot.

"Well...I fell."

"Smooth." Sam hissed sarcastically in his ear. That was Danny's excuse every time.

They went into a smaller room located at the back of the office and Danny sat down on the side of the padded table against the wall.

"Now, which foot is it?" The woman asked gently.

Danny scowled lightly at her patronizing voice, "Right ankle."

Sam caught the face he had made and smirked to herself in amusement. The nurse slowly lifted his leg onto the table as he repositioned himself and rolled up his right pant like Sam had done earlier. Even though Sam was his best friend and he had spoken to the school nurse on several occasions, he still felt awkward as the two females stared at him. Danny could feel his cheeks slowly heating up.

"Okay, and I'll just roll down your sock..." the woman mumbled under her breath. Her calm demeanor wavered as his ankle was gingerly revealed. She gulped, "Oh...that doesn't look good." She was at a loss for words. The boy's ankle was black and blue and slightly misshapen. It was swelling too; so much that the opening to his shoe looked too small. "Did you honestly get this from falling?"

Danny was staring at his ankle with wide eyes. That was the first time he'd seen it and he imagined it bad...but that bad?! It was starting to freak him out! "Uh...yes...?"

The woman sighed. She reached over and grabbed a phone off of the receiver on the counter. She handed it to Danny, "Call your parents."

"What?! Why?"

"...You're going to the hospital." She stated with a sympathetic face.

_Not. Good._

* * *

**Not my favorite chapter... And question. Is it illegal to put a real picture of DP (like, actually from the show) as a cover photo for a story? Because I've seen people do that, but I don't want to risk anything sooo... Idk. ANYWAYS! Spring break is here and I'm so happy! AGGGHHHHH! 8D "Breathe in. Breathe out." That quote was for you, Suzeh;D Hehe. I think I'm going insane because I had to write an essay last night and I was _finally_ done at 2:30 a.m. I let guests sleep in my bed so I slept on the floor...and I was then woken up at 5:50! *twitch* I almost forgot to publish this, but here it is! Reviews are appreciated as always! Thanks again, guys!:)**


	6. Chapter 6

**At the beach with my family and friends! It's nighttime and we are watching a robot movie. Well...me- not so much. (-: I'm so bad. Hehe. Love you, Shiz and Ace.**

**Disclaimer: Do I really need to put this here on every chapter? I don't own Danny Phantom.**

* * *

"No, no. That's okay." Danny's heart started pumping faster in his chest, "Seriously. No need."

"Are you thinking clearly? Do you not feel anything when I do this?" The nurse pressed her fingers on his ankle.

"HOLY SH...I mean..." He cleared his throat, "I feel nothing." Danny gave a strained smile.

Sam stared at him, unimpressed, "Again...smooth."

The woman picked up the school phone and spoke in a professional tone, "What's your home number?"

"Don't have one." Danny answered quickly.

"Mom's?"

"Doesn't have one."

"...Dad's?"

"Nope."

"I'm positive that at least _one_ of your parents have a cell phone."

"My family's very...what you would call _Amish_."

"Aren't your parents inventors?" She asked while raising an eyebrow.

Danny sighed in defeat and gave the lady his home phone number grudgingly. While dialing it, the nurse motioned for Sam to follow her. Danny ran his hand through his raven black hair as the anxiety within his chest grew. _Was there any way he could get out of the problem at hand?!_ What if the doctors at the hospital found ectoplasm in his blood? Or what if-

His internal panic attack was ended abruptly as Sam walked back in with an icepack in her hand, "She told me to give this to you." She tossed it to Danny.

"Thanks." He said as he placed the icepack on his ankle.

"You know," Sam strode over and bent down to examine it, "this is actually interesting..." She didn't notice the funny look Danny gave her. "Mind if I take a picture of it?"

"Why?!"

"For my wall of horror. See? It's all swollen and-"

"SAM!" Danny's face was twisted in terror.

She laughed whole heartedly, "I'm joking, Danny! I don't even _have_ a wall of horror. You should know that by now!" Sam doubled over laughing again.

"I mean, I know that you're creepy-" Danny paused as he was punched by Sam, "Excuse me..._unique_ and everything, but that was just crossing the line." He slowly grinned at her. Danny's eyes traveled over to where the nurse was pacing around in front of the doorway with the phone pressed to her ear.

Sam seemed to notice the fear in Danny's gaze for she suddenly placed her hand on his shoulder, "Danny, you're fine." She squeezed him gently, "It's going to be okay." She laughed lightly at the end and it assured Danny that everything truly was going to be okay.

The woman walked back into the room, "Your parents are on the way here and then they'll bring you to the hospital. Sam, you can go back to class."

Sam looked over at Danny to see what he thought. He honestly wanted her to go with him. But...would that be awkward...? "Um..." Danny hesitated, "Could Sam...come with me? Maybe...?"

On the outside Sam was neutral. But on the inside her stomach was fluttering happily. _He wanted her to go with him!_

The nurse seemed to gauge the choices in her mind, "I don't know." She said finally. "You'll need to ask your parents."

As if on cue, Jack Fenton bounded into the small room, (making it a lot smaller,) "Son! What-" He caught sight of the icepack on top of his ankle, "Did a ghost do this?!" He asked with bubbling fury.

The nurse stood there, astounded, "How did you get here so fast?"

Just then, Maddie walked in with a hand over her chest, "This man," she pointed to Jack, "drove here...so fast," she had to pause for a deep breath every once in a while, "that I nearly had...a heart attack." She spotted Danny sitting on the cushioned table with his leg outstretched in front of him, "Oh, my baby boy!"

Sam smirked as Maddie threw her arms around her son and kissed him several times. "Let me see." She lifted the icepack off of his ankle and dropped it in horror once she saw it. "What on earth?!"

Danny swallowed. He had told the nurse earlier that he had fallen...and she was in the room with them. So he couldn't make up a better excuse... Not that he could anyways. "I fell."

"What?" Maddie looked incredulously at his ankle and then shook her head, "Never mind. Let's get you to the hospital."

"Wait, wait... Can Sam come...? Maybe?"

Maddie looked over at Sam, then she turned back to whisper in Danny's ear, "Oh... I see." She raised her voice so that everyone in the room could hear, "That's fine with us if she comes."

Everyone looked at the nurse. Sam was begging her with sparkling amethyst eyes.

The woman looked uncertain, "If it was my school I'd let you go in a heartbeat, but I'm not sure if Principle Ishiyama would approve..."

"If I pretend that I'm sick will you let me go?"

It was obvious that the lady felt pressured. She was silent for a minute until she spoke up again, "If I get fired for this, Sam, I _will_ blame you." She winked at Sam with a joking gleam in her eye, "Just go before anyone notices."

"Yes! Thank you!" Sam gave the nurse a swift one armed hug.

Maddie told Jack to carry Danny to the car, (after many protests from Danny,) and the large man squeezed out of the doorway with his small son in his arms. Maddie followed closely behind and Sam paused right outside the doorway to face the nurse one more time.

"Thanks again! I owe you one!" Sam told her with a huge grin plastered on her face. She pulled the door shut and ran after the Fentons.

The nurse smiled as she began to write the two students' notes for leaving school ,"Lovebirds." She muttered under her breath.

* * *

Review? It's almost my birthday...(-:


	7. Chapter 7

**GRADUATED YESTERDAY YAY! Now on to more school...BUT SUMMER FIRST! And thank you so much for the sweet reviews!(:**

**I seriously don't want to get in trouble, so:**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Danny Phantom. **

* * *

"Mr. Fenton-"

The doctor was quickly interrupted by the booming voice of Jack Fenton, "That's me!"

"Sir, I was talking to your _son_. I just spoke to you and your wife about Daniel's condition..." His patient tone was obviously forced, and Dany had to fight the urge to cover his face in embarrassment.

"Right, right." Said Danny's father as he tried to hold an authoritative facial expression.

"As I was saying," the doctor eyed Jack before his gaze flickered back over to Danny, "Your ankle needs to be properly set, and that can only be done by surgery."

Danny felt his heart stomach drop at that announcement. _Surgery?_

"It's a quite simple procedure, really." The man swiftly assured Danny as the boy's eyes grew wide in panic. "It doesn't take that long. And you'll be back on your feet before you know it."

Sam sat a little off to the side as she listened to what the Fentons were talking about with the doctor. She could practically feel the fear radiating off of Danny and she smirked. _So Mr. Fearless is scared of surgery, huh?_

"Before we can start the surgery, we will need all of your medical history."

A woman in scrubs came in with a clipboard and stood in front of the three Fentons. She clicked the bottom of the ballpoint pen and it hovered over the paper, "Any allergies?"

Danny stared blankly at her for a split second, "Any? What does thi-"

"Please, just answer the question." She snapped.

Danny had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep his mouth under control. _Crabby today, are we?_

"I'm sorry about his behavior." Maddy shot Danny a look, "He's allergic to walnuts. I'm pretty sure this isn't going to change anything, but even from a distance they make his tongue swell up and-"

"Okay, _okay_." Danny looked at his mother darkly as the nurse was scribbling away on her paper.

Sam gasped to herself. She recalled that a couple days before she had brought a bag of mixed nuts to school. She had held the bag out to Danny as she offered him some, but he had quickly told her that he needed to use the restroom. He had run away so fast that Tucker and her had thought that he was going off to fight another ghost.

Sam cringed at the memory since she knew the cause of his reaction. She could have frickin' killed him! Note to self: no more walnuts.

The nurse looked back up, "How much do you weigh?"

"Why do you need to know this?" Danny protested weakly.

"We need to know how much anesthesia to give you. Just answer the question, please."

Danny visibly paled, "Around 120 pounds..." he managed to mumble.

"You've gained weight, son! Just like your ol' man, eh?" Jack slapped Danny on the back with his ginormous gloved hand.

Sam silently added his weight was due to muscles_. Not fat like his father. I didn't just think that..._

Danny just glowered at the hospital bed as his face burned. _This is going to take forever._

* * *

...

"Danny."

_What was that?_

"Danny." Another voice called.

_What were they saying?_ Was that his name? Yeah, that was his name. After hearing the voices calling his name persistently for what seemed like eternity, Danny realized that all he could see was pitch black. _Oh, eyes. Right. Gotta open them in order to see. _Eventually he managed to pry his eyes open. He strained his half-way open eyes as he tried to focus them. Everything was blurry and his vision tilted to the side._  
_

The voices stopped. He was finally able to discern that the blobs surrounding him were people.

"So, Sleeping Beauty awakes?"

_Sleeping Beauty...?_ He ignored the comment and instead croaked, "Where am I?"

"At the hospital."

It took a few seconds until the words sunk in, "Hospital?" he mumbled as he struggled to sit up, "Did someone get hurt?"

"Yes. And that would be you." said Sam- almost in a disapproving manor as she pushed him back down to the bed.

"Your surgery was yesterday. You've been asleep for a little over a day." Jazz's voice found its way into Danny's head.

"Looks like you needed more sleep than we thought!" Said Tucker smirking.

The doctor from the previous day strolled into the room, "Oh, Mr. Fenton, you're awake. We were starting to think you never would wake up!"

The Fenton parents followed the man into their son's hospital room, "Oh, honey!" Maddie ran forward and Tucker moved out of her way as she ran to Danny's bedside. She held his face as she kissed his forehead. (Which made Tucker snicker.)

"How do you feel, son?" Jack asked from behind his wife.

He was only met by silence. "Son?"

Danny looked up blearily at his father, "Huh? You talking to me?"

Everyone laughed.

* * *

Maddie opened the door to Fenton Works as Jack carried Danny in behind her. She went to go grab some pillows as Jack laid their son down on the couch.

Jazz and Sam walked slowly into the house since they were talking with their voices low, "He's going to have to take a break from ghost hunting for bit." Said Sam as she eyed Maddie propping Danny's foot in the air with some pillows and placing another one under his head.

"He _should_. But you know him; he's an idiot. Trust me. I've known him his whole life." Jazz half-joked as she shut the door.

"He might not even notice since he's going to be on pain medication."

"I don't know, but I hope-"

Jazz was cut short as the front door opened again and everyone in the room stopped what they were doing.

"I heard that Daniel had surgery. How is my little badger?" Asked an all too familiar voice.

* * *

**...Any guesses about what's going to happen? Because I need some ideas... Review?**


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Danny Phantom...**

* * *

Sam and Jazz couldn't tell what the man was thinking, but his smirk sent shivers down their spines. Vlad Masters had arrived.

"V-man! I knew you would make it!" Jack ran over to his '_friend' _and gave him a bone-crushing hug.

"Let go of me, you twit!" Vlad spat at the large jump-suited man.

"Whoops. Sorry, Vladdy! I'm just so excited to see you!"

"Yes, yes..." The billionaire mumbled irritably. He began making his way over to the couch where Danny lay, and Maddie stepped in front of him to block his path.

"Vlad." She said coolly.

"Ah, Maddie." Vlad said in a silky voice that made everyone cringe.

"What brings you here?" She managed to get out in a calm tone.

"Like I said, I heard that Daniel had surgery."

After she and Danny 'stayed' at Vlad's on their ruined vacation, Vlad just gave her the creeps. He had tried to convince her to leave Jack for him! Vlad had wanted her and Danny to_ stay with him_ in Wisconsin! But...the man _had_ saved Danny during that big ghost invasion by carrying him home... Maddie remembered the man showing up at her doorstep with her son in his arms. Danny was unconscious and his face had been ashen. Maddie could recall herself crying in relief that her baby boy was all right. She couldn't be too hateful towards the man...

Bringing herself back to the present, she looked Vlad in the eye, "Thank you for coming to check on Danny. He broke his ankle and they had to reconstruct it."

The man eyed the insolent child's foot propped up on some pillows, "That's too bad. What happened to the poor boy?"

Maddie sighed and pressed a hand to her temple as she attempted to ease her growing headache, "He claimed that he_ 'tripped,' _but that doesn't include all the details."

Vlad looked at Danny suspiciously, but he quickly changed it into a more..._concerned_ expression, "What happened, little badger?"

Danny looked up at him from his spot on the couch dazedly, "What're you doin' here?" He slurred.

"Daniel. Really." Vlad was already growing impatient with the boy ignoring his question, and he had to restrain himself from punching some sense into Daniel.

"...Huh?" Was all Danny was able to reply.

Vlad pursed his lips angrily, "Daniel, I'm not playing any games." He paused since the venom in his voice caused a suspicious look from Maddie. He continued, "I'm going to punish whoever did this to you." Vlad gave himself a mental pat on the back once Maddie slightly relaxed.

"Vlad, the doctor put him on painkiller." She informed him in a slightly annoyed tone, "Be easy on him."

"Yes, yes. Of course..." Vlad said offhandedly, "Jack informed me of the situation over the phone not too long ago, and I thought that I should head over."

"Since when have you cared so much about Danny?" Jazz questioned coldly.

"Hello, Jasmine. How are you?"

Jazz had some pretty disrespectful things to say to that obviously forced question, but since her parents were in the room, she had to resort to being the polite girl she was. "I'm good, Mr. Masters. How are _you_?" She asked narrowing her eyes.

"Splendid, thanks for asking."

A tense silence filled the room until Maddie finally raised her voice, "Well, Vlad, Danny is fine now, and he should heal in 8 to 10 weeks. Thanks for stopping by!" Maddie began to usher Vlad towards the door he entered from.

"Oh, but my dear, Jack offered me to stay in the guest bedroom for the night. Isn't that right, Jack?"

"Sure thing, Vladdy! Anything for my best friend!" He said while throwing an arm around the billionaire's shoulders.

Everyone in the room, besides Jack and Danny, noticed the scowl on the man's face with the contact.

Vlad quickly moved out from underneath the large arm, "Would anyone like to go to that new restaurant around the corner?" He was looking directly at Maddie.

She just blinked at him and was quiet was several moments, "My son...just had _surgery_...and you're asking if we want to go out to dinner?!"

"No! No no no, my dear! What I meant was...do you want to order pizza? And I pay?"

"Pizza..."

Everyone turned to see Danny looking up at them from the couch through half-lidded eyes. "I want pizza." He muttered with a small smile that still managed to make Sam's heart melt.

"Aw...my baby wants pizza," Maddie cooed, "Okay, let's order pizza!"

Jazz and Sam giggled while Tucker jumped in the air, "YES! Get an extra box for me!"

The room was silent before he gave a sheepish smile, "Please?"

Maddie sighed. Tucker had come over so much over the years that he was practically her second son. "Do you mind, Vlad?"

Although he probably wasn't happy - considering Tucker was one of Danny's best friends - Vlad didn't miss a beat as he nodded at Maddie, "Of course! Anything for Daniel's friends."

All the teens were silent as the adults left the room, then they all sat down in front of the couch.

"Your day keeps getting worse and worse, dude."

Sam elbowed Tucker in the ribs, "What he means, Danny, is that this might not be the best day, but it'll be better tomorrow!"

"Wow," Jazz said in an impressed tone, "the goth is being optimistic. That's not something you see every day."

Sam was about to retort, but Danny spoke first.

"Ba' day as in Vlad?"

"And your ankle," Tucker added.

"Hey! Let's put on a movie!" Sam jumped up went over to the huge flatscreen and opened up the cabinet it was resting on. "Any preferences?"

"Dead Teacher 3!" Tucker suggested excitedly, "I love that-!"

"No!" Jazz cut in, "Danny needs to watch something to ease his mind!"

Tucker walked over to look through the movies as well, "Like what? Ghost Busters?" He sneered.

"The Lion King?"

"BARBIE?!"

"That's from a long time ago!"

* * *

Everyone was sitting pretty close; either around the couch or on it. Well, minus Vlad. Vlad had already gone up to bed because he '_hated movies.'_

Sam's back was pressed against the couch, and she glanced up to see Danny's head propped up on pillows in his mother's lap. Maddie held a grape in front of her son's mouth and Sam smirked. It was funny seeing such a strong independent person being fed by his mother.

"No. I wan' more pizza..." He mumbled.

"Danny, you need something healthy." Maddie protested quietly.

Sam had to stifle a laugh as Danny groaned and turned his head away. From beside Sam came a snicker, and she looked over to see Tucker watching the mother and son argue as well.

He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "This is more entertaining than the movie."

At that moment, everything seemed simple. Once Danny healed, life would go right back to the way it was before. Little did they know that that wasn't the case.

* * *

Upstairs in the guest bedroom, Vlad was peering out the window that overlooked the street. He chuckled as he stared into his own eyes in the reflection of the glass. Vlad then raised what appeared to be a watch on his wrist to his mouth before speaking quietly, "Great job, Skulker."

* * *

**I wrote most of this chapter a couple days ago when I was in a really good mood. Can you spot where I picked up today? (Bad mood.) I mean, I recently found out that I'm really anemic and- pleh. Not part of story... Who likes it when Vlad's bad? And who likes it when Vlad's good? (Or turns out.) Preferences...?**

**Review for me, please?(:**


	9. Chapter 9

**You guys are so awesome. Like seriously. You have no idea how happy your reviews, follows, and favorites make me! :D**

**Disclaimer: Do I own Danny Phantom? HA HA! I WISH! But no, I don't.**

* * *

The Fenton household was silent. Jack had gone to bed, but the rest of them remained in the darkness of the living room which was only slightly illuminated by the play screen that had been repeating itself for the past 2 hours. Sam and Tucker laid sprawled on the carpeted floor while Danny's head was still resting on the pillow on Maddie's lap. Jazz was curled up beside them on the white couch. They were all asleep.

Nobody had any idea that Vlad _Plasmius_ was a couple miles away on top of an old abandoned apartment while waiting for Skulker to arrive. Vlad raised his red eyes once he noticed something mechanical flying towards him in his peripheral-vision.

"I was hoping that you'd be faster." Vlad announced as he didn't even turn to face the other ghost.

Skulker landed behind him and his metal wings retracted back into his armor, "Look, Plasmius, I'm sorry. There was this rare c-"

"I don't want to hear it." Vlad said as he spun around. "I was beginning to thing that you had forgotten the task I had assigned to you." His fangs were bared as he smiled approvingly.

"I...had to wait for the right time."

"Right, right. I was just worried that someone else injured Daniel before you at first! And that they had a similar plan to mine! But no one is as brilliant as me! " Vlad laughed, wiping a tear from his eye, "Oh, I kill me! Or Jack..." He clenched his hand in a fist.

"What was that?"

"Oh," Vlad waved him off, "Nothing. But back to the plan. Have you contacted the Fright Knight?"

"Yes. He said tomorrow is when the fun begins around here. And the Whelp can't do _anything_ about it." His metal face twisted into a smirk.

* * *

"Danny."

"Dannyyyy."

"Oh, Dannyyy!"

Danny scowled as he was roused from him slumber. The familiar voices drawling out/singing his name were grating against his ears. "Go _away_."

"Ah, Danny! C'mon, dude!"

"Your mom told us that pop tarts are your favorite breakfast..."

"I have them right here! Along with your _tasty_ painkillers!"

Team Phantom giggled as their leader groggily opened his eyes.

"See?" Jazz showed him the pop tarts covered in pink frosting and sprinkles. Jazz handed them to Sam as she lifted Danny into a sitting position by force.

He groaned in protest and went limp in her hold. Sam and Tucker had to stifle laughs.

"Ugh! Danny! Sit. Up!" Jazz managed to pull him closer to the armrest and Sam put a pillow behind Danny's back before he was leaned up against it.

"_Go away_." He repeated as he closed his eyes again and tried to sink back to a lower position on the couch.

Jazz made a frustrated sound as she hefted Danny back up. "Some help here, you guys?"

Sam's smile was so big that a dimple was visible in her cheek. She put a pop tart against his closed mouth...which he refused to open. Tucker went around the couch and held Danny's jaw open so that Sam could put it in their friend's mouth. Jazz's loud laugh sounded behind them and theirs joined in too as they moved Danny's jaw up and down with the pop tart in his mouth.

Danny opened his eyes and they flashed green as he clamped his mouth shut. That just made the three other teens laugh even harder.

* * *

Vlad leisurely came down the stairs and immediately spotted the teens in the living room. It appeared that Daniel's friends, along with his sister, were...force feeding him? Rolling his eyes, Vlad ignored them and strolled into the kitchen. A smile lit his face as he spotted Ma-

"VLADDY!" An arm shot out of nowhere and grabbed him around the shoulders.

"Hello, Jack." Vlad forced himself to greet the man. His eyes found their way back to the person sitting at the table: Maddie. She was eating her food while avoiding his eyes. "And Maddie! How are you, my dear?"

"Good morning, Vlad." She sighed, "I'm good." She continued to eat.

_Yes.__ She will join me...one day._

* * *

Danny's eyes flew open as a cold mist curled out of his mouth. He was in his room on his bed; shadows fell across the floor in front of his window. Twisting his head to the left, Danny could see that it was nighttime. He sighed and began to swing his legs off the bed when a painful jolt shot up his leg that started at his ankle. With a grimace, he threw the covers aside and the sight of his ankle in a splint made him remember everything.

He groaned as he rolled onto his side and let his face fall into his hand. Peering between his fingers, he glanced at the clock on his bedside table: 1:43 a.m. Danny could tell that the painkiller he had taken several hours ago was wearing off. Gritting his teeth, he quickly swung his legs over the side of the bed as fast as he could. _Can't these ghosts give me a break?!_

Danny hopped on his good leg over to the window and leaned on it with his hands on either side. Peering outside, he noted that nothing was out of the ordinary... Usually he could tell where the ghosts were coming from, but it was like something had set his ghost sense off and then disappeared... Danny blinked a couple times and rubbed his eye with his right hand as he still leaned against the wall with his left one. "Hm..."

* * *

Two ghosts stood in a dark alleyway; they both stood tall and proud as they conversed.

"Plasmius," the Fright Knight said, "Are you sure that the Whelp won't...?"

"Yes, yes." Vlad said dismissively with a wave of his hand, "You see," he said while gesturing to the shield surrounding them, "This shield prevents Daniel from sensing where we are."

"How long do we have before that vexatious Whelp is going to attempt to halt our plans?"

Vlad paused a moment before answering, "Well, if Daniel had not undergone that surgery, he wouldn't be healing due to the fact that the bone was pushed out of its place. Now since he _has_ had it, we will have to work more efficiently. Half-ghosts heal around twice as fast as a regular human. So, if the boy is expected to heal in 8-10 weeks by the doctors, then he will actually heal in 4-5 weeks."

The Fright Knight chuckled as he crossed his arms, "And that's all the time we'll need."

* * *

**I try to update within a month, but I went to an overnight cheer camp for a couple days where we cheered from freakin' 8 a.m. to past 8 p.m. every day. It was LONG:P **

**Anyways, please let me know if you liked the chapter! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own Danny Phantom! I would find some way to continue it if I did.**

* * *

A knock sounded at the Fenton's front door. Maddie's boots clacked quietly against the hardwood floor of the hallway as she went to open the door for whoever was there. Her black gloved hand reached for the handle and twisted before she pulled it open to reveal two familiar teenagers.

"Hey there, Mrs. Fenton!" Tucker chirped brightly. "We came to see Danny!"

"Can we come in?" Sam asked with a smile.

"Of course!" Maddie opened the door completely to let the teens through. "Danny's in his room."

They headed straight up the stairs and turned to the left to go to Danny's bedroom.

Sam softly knocked on his door, "Danny?"

The two waited a couple moments for a response, but cautiously opened the door when they didn't hear anything. On the messy bedspread was a boy with a mop of black hair in blue striped boxers...And only that. Sam flushed bright red and tried to avert her eyes...but she didn't really succeed. Danny has always been an extremely modest person. Even when they went swimming he wore a T-shirt with his swim-trunks.

Someone cleared his throat, "Um, Sam, you almost done staring at Danny?"

"Uh..." Was all she could manage as she continued to stare. "I...he..." Sam struggled to form a proper sentence as her eyes roamed over what she had never laid eyes on before. _Snap out of it. I'm being really weird._

"Sam, you're making me feel awkward..." Tucker stated bluntly.

She didn't know how to respond to that properly... "Sorry. Sorry, Tuck." Sam told as she ran her fingers through her hair. "I just..um..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Tucker rolled his eyes; a little bit of his jealousy showing. "I know, I know. Danny has muscles and you're busy gawking over him. Now if you'll excuse me," he turned around towards the hallway, "I'll just go now while you...you know..."

"No, Tucker! Wait!" Sam grabbed him before he could leave the room, "I didn't mean th-"

"Guys?" A quiet voice spoke up hoarsely from the bed.

His two friends froze in place.

...The room was silent as Sam and Tucker struggled how to respond.

"Oh, um, hey, Danny..." Sam greeted hesitantly.

"Hey, dude..." Tucker was just as awkward as Sam.

But Danny didn't seem to notice. "Wha're you doin'?" He rasped in a half-asleep voice.

"We were just checking on you..."

Danny clumsily brought a hand up to push the hair out of his face. His eyes were struggling to open more than a sliver. "Oh...Well, hi." He gave them an inane smile.

"Yeah, um, guys," everyone turned to Danny's older redheaded sister standing in the doorway, "He was in a lot of pain a bit earlier and I might've given him a _little_ too much painkiller..." She eyed her brother, "Hey may be a bit loopy..."

Danny sat up in his mess of a bed while his eyes remained mostly closed, "Las' night," he took a big refreshing breath, "My ghos' sense wen' off."

"What did you do...?" Jazz asked cautiously.

Danny was oblivious to the fact that Sam blushed even harder when he sat up. "It..." his brow furrowed and he squeezed his eyes shut, "It wen' away...Couldn't...sense where it was."

"What?"

Danny began to slide off the bed, causing many protests from his sister and friends. They tried to push him back down onto the bed, but even in his lethargic state he was stronger than the three of them and he stood up. Danny started to make his way over to the window, but due to the begging of his friends and sister, he complied to lifting his bad leg and leaning on Jazz.

Once they reached the window, he pointed outside drowsily, "I could sense...ghosts out there, but...then it disappeared..."

The other three teens exchanged apprehensive looks.

* * *

Later that day, Jazz, Sam, and Tucker were all playing cards on the ground next to Danny's bed. The leader of Team Phantom was, once again, asleep on a mess of a bed. And yes...he was still in his boxers. The setting sun casted an orange light through the window. The light on the ceiling suddenly flickered and shattered. The house started to subtly tremble but it got worse over a period of seconds. The three teens thought that _maybe_ it could be an earthquake, so they went to wake up the boy on the bed.

"_Danny!_"

Their hands shook him urgently as they attempted to wake him. Danny's eyes suddenly shot open as a blue mist curled out of his mouth.

Distant but what sounded like thousands of cackles sounded instantaneously from outside and the sunlight that was shining into the room was suddenly blocked...as if by a cloud. Jazz, Sam, and Tuck ran over to the window and saw thousands of ghosts swirling through the air; blocking the sky.

"Should've known."

The three of them turned to see Danny beside them, standing on his good leg.

He looked at them gravely, "And this is why I don't take breaks."

* * *

**Hooha! Surprise! Fast update! Today was extremely boring. Oo, also, I started another DP story that involves the Guys in White... But it's _not_ one of those stories that solely target on the GiW rather than Danny. ...Anyone interested...?**

**I appreciate reviews!:D**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hehe. You guys rock. Okay, back to story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. (And if I did, I would've somehow found a way to continue it...)**

* * *

The teens continued staring out of the window in a horrified stupor. The endless sea of ghosts filled the sky until there was no more sky left to see. Their ghostly auras cast a green glow on the buildings below. Danny was at a loss. _What the hell were all these ghosts doing here?! _Danny always throws himself headfirst into any battle. But... this looked like something a little too big for him to handle by himself... Scratch that. WAY too big.

If he threw himself into _that_...well, let's just say that there would be no more Danny Phantom to protect the town.

"KIDS! DOWNSTAIRS. NOW." A voice shouted.

Tucker, Sam, and Jazz all helped/grabbed/carried Danny out of his room, down the hall, and then down the stairs in a very unprofessional manner. (With him arguing the whole time.) It was actually so clumsy that the Fenton parents had jumped in to help once they spotted the kids struggling on the stairs. Jack picked Danny up bridal style and everyone practically flew down to the lab.

Jack put Danny down in a chair against the wall and then ran over to one of their many machines. "I'm activating the ghost shield!"

Maddie stepped in and pressed some buttons, "I'm increasing the surface area to the max to protect as much as the town as possible." She pulled down a creaky a lever.

"Has anyone seen Vladdy?" Jack asked in a concerned tone.

"No." Everyone in the room, besides Jack, said at the same time in the same monotone.

Jack, being as oblivious as always, didn't detect any negative reactions, "Oh no! I better go find him!" He ran up the stairs that led to the kitchen.

The fear in the room was just about palpable. Everyone's heart was beating quickly in their chests and their minds raced.

_What are we going to do?_ Sam thought anxiously, _Danny can't fight right now!_

Maddie tapped her chin with her gloved index finger. _Perhaps if we teamed up with Axion Labs and traded equipment, we could put all these ghosts back into the Ghost Zone..._

Danny ran a hand tiredly over his face, _I bet Plasmius is behind this._

_I wonder if the Fentons have any more pizza,_ Tucker wondered as his stomach growled.

"Are you kids hungry?" Maddie asked with a small strained smile.

"STARVING!" Tucker exclaimed loudly while holding his stomach dramatically.

Danny looked down at his hands clasped together tightly in his lap, "I'm not..." He mumbled so quietly that only Sam heard.

"I'll go fix some snacks." Maddie told them distantly as she walked back up the stairs.

Danny leaned back in the rickety chair, "Hopefully it's actually something edible. Although, you probably don't care." He smiled as Tucker stuck his tongue out at him.

Smirking at them, Sam scolded, "Come on, Danny. I hope you don't say mean things like that to your mom's face."

"I don't! I just..." He paused for a moment before smiling again, "I just don't eat what she makes."

Sam smacked his arm.

"I don't say anything to her face about it, though!"

"Alright, alright, you two. Calm your lovebird antics."

"WE'RE NOT LOVEBIRDS!" They shouted in unison.

Tucker chuckled as he leaned against the cold metal walls of the lab. He was still wearing his backpack and he could feel the objects that it contained pressing into his back.

A comfortable silence settled over them until the door of the ghost portal slid open. Danny's eyes narrowed suspiciously as he stood up out of his chair.

"Danny, it's probably just malfunctioning or just opening randomly like it always does." Sam whispered in his ear as she tried to get him to sit back down.

The intense look he gave her made her stop pestering him, but Sam didn't take her hands off of him as he continued to stand.

A white pant-leg with a black boot stepped out of the swirling green vortex that was one of the many entrances to the Ghost Zone. An entire body followed suit, and Vlad Plasmius stood before them with a smug look on his blue face.

Sam could practically feel the anger radiating off of Danny in waves. She could see his eyes flash green as she glanced over at him.

"_What are you doing here?_" Danny's dangerously low voice ground out.

"Ah, Daniel. So good to see you again, my boy. I didn't even get to see you yesterday since you were up in your room all day!" Vlad greeted him as he crossed his arms; looking relaxed.

Danny brushed Sam away as he strode forward. He was so enraged that the pain shooting up his leg didn't even register. Walking right up to Vlad, he took the front of the man's shirt into his fists as he pressed his up against he wall. "What," he hissed as he lifted Vlad up a little bit, "did you do?"

* * *

**Danny's gotten taller in this story, but he's not taller than Vlad. (-:**

**Review for me, please!:D**


	12. Chapter 12

**Nothing to say expect thank you again for all the reviews, follows, and favorites! You all make me smile!:D**

**I don't own Danny Phantom. *cue gasps* I never have disclaimers do I? (Obvious sarcasm)**

* * *

Vlad threw his head back as he guffawed; his rancid breath burning Danny's nose.

"Are you _honestly_ threatening me?" Vlad patronized him with a sneer. "Just look at you, poor boy! Why, you have a broken ankle,'" he glanced down, "and you're even standing on it!" He pretended to stifle a laugh, but everyone clearly heard it.

It sent shivers down the teens' spines.

"Plasmius," Danny hissed, "what the _hell_ is going on?"

Vlad raised an eyebrow at the boy, "Really, Daniel?" He swatted the child's hands away from the front of his shirt and brushed himself off, "You aren't that intimidating, you know." Vlad informed Danny with a smirk.

Danny got in his face, "Are you asking for me to be?" He asked the man quietly.

Vlad smiled. He had to give the boy credit; he had a lot of courage in him! _Especially for attempting to threaten me in his current state of health_, he thought. _Stupid child._

Vlad punched Danny in the gut and sent him flying across the room. Danny, although weakened in the first place, jumped back up and flew at the billionaire. He didn't even bother to go ghost! Knocking into the man, the halfas landed on the ground with Danny on top. He managed to punch him twice in the jaw and face before a black gloved hand clamped around his neck.

Vlad smirked as he stood up; Daniel still hanging from his hand. The incredibly light boy kicked the man repeated in the chest while making a few choked noises. When Vlad still didn't let go, Danny resorted to slamming both feet into the man's stomach at the same time.

With a whoosh from his mouth, Vlad let go of Danny's neck. The ghost boy landed skillfully and did a roundhouse kick into Vlad which sent him toppling over. Danny was about to jump in for another attack when-

"DANNY!"

Everyone's head whipped around to see Maddie at the stairs. Without a moment of hesitation, she grabbed one of the million ghost contraptions from a table. "Stay away from my son, evil ghost scum!" With a flip of a switch, she aimed the device at Vlad, and he was sucked into a vacuum.

Maddie dropped the gizmo and ran to Danny who was struggling to get up. "Oh, Danny! My baby!" She wrapped one arm around his midsection and helped him stand. While still supporting his weight, she held his face in one hand quite dramatically, "How is your leg, baby?"

Even though Danny felt comfortable around his friends with most things, this was one of the few things that he wasn't. Jazz was used to seeing this sort of thing, but not his friends. His cheeks burned, "Yes, mom. I'm fine. I'm fine! Let go!" Danny gently pushed her away and began to limp away painfully.

Maddie's heart was breaking at seeing her stubborn son walk with such struggle. "I'm sorry!" She wasn't even sure was she was apologizing for, but Maddie rushed over and draped his arm over her shoulders. "Here, let me help you."

Danny didn't say anything as she led him over to the steps.

"Do you need any help?" Tucker asked them.

Danny was about to turn down the offer, but his mother cut him off. "Oh, that'd be great, Tucker! Would you mind getting his other side?"

Tucker lifted (forced) Danny's arm around his shoulders when Sam suddenly butted in, "Hate to burst your bubble, Tucker," she told him knowingly, "but you know that I'm stronger than you."

"Screw you, Sam..." Tucker sighed dejectedly as he left Danny's side.

"Language, young man!" Maddie scolded him.

Sam smiled to herself as she put Danny's arm over her shoulders. She was about to take a step forward when Mrs. Fenton stopped her.

"Wrap your other arm around his back to support him more, sweetie."

Sam's heart pounded in her chest as she did as she was told. She could feel the warmth radiating from Danny's body at their close proximity and Sam felt her own face emit its own heat. She spared a glance at his face to see him staring at the stairs ahead of them as if they were the most interesting thing on the planet. They began their ascent up the stairs that led to the kitchen.

It was so weird having her arm around Danny's midsection; she could feel him inhaling and exhaling. Focusing for a second, she could slightly feel his pulse underneath her fingertips. It was racing. _Good to know that I'm not the only one feeling awkward right now,_ she thought to herself.

Once they reached the top, the house shuddered again. White plaster crumbled down from the ceiling. Everyone dove underneath the kitchen table in their haste to escape objects falling from shelves and cabinets. A sharp cry was heard as they tumbled underneath the table.

"What's wrong?!" Sam asked frantically in her overprotective manner.

"I'm just _perfect_," he said with his face screwed up in obvious discomfort,"especially with Tucker on top of my _$*#%ing_ leg!"

"GET OFF!" All three girls shoved Tucker away from Danny.

"Are you okay?"

"Do you need more pain meds?"

Danny sighed exasperatedly, "I'm fine! Stop worrying because it's starting to get on my nerves!"

It was touching that everyone cared about him, but he just wished that he didn't need to be...fussed over so much. Yes, everyone needed help every once in a while. And yes, his leg hurt.

He tried to ignore the hurt looks that flashed across everyone's face once the words left his mouth.

Sam's hurt expression quickly changed into more of an irritated one, "You really need to stop this whole 'I'm invincible' attitude, Danny." She told him with a scowl, "Since you obviously aren't." She gestured to his splinted leg. Looking out from under the table, Sam noticed that the house had stopped shaking and crawled out. The others followed and they all stood back up.

Dishes from the cabinets had fallen and shattered on the floor; the shards all over the place. Plaster was also spread across the ground, along with the table in the center of the room. The lights had burst and pieces of the lightbulbs lay on the tabletop as well. The only light in the room was coming from the lights in the living room that managed to survive the strange trembling of the house.

"Guys," Tucker said in a frightened tone that sent everyone on their toes.

"What...?" Jazz replied hesitantly.

"Listen."

Silence stretched out for several moments until the sound of glass shattering sounded from somewhere in the living room. They heard feet shuffling and they couldn't tell if it was one pair or more...

The shuffling stopped.

Maddie, Jazz, Danny, Tucker, and Sam all held their breath as they waited in complete utter silence. The dark room was like a sponge that held tension.

...

And at the moment, all hell broke lose.

* * *

**AGHHH! I LOVE LOGAN LERMAN SO MUCH I WANT TO CRY.**** He should play Danny** if there was ever a Danny Phantom movie with real people. (I also love Danny, but he's not real.)

**Pleeeeaaase review for me! I don't think I did too great, but let me know your thoughts! Tell me if I need to change something! Like, too much detail or too vague...? Let me know! x)**


	13. Chapter 13

**I seriously appreciate all you guys! On with the story!**

**No, I don't own Danny Phantom. And neither does Vlad. **

* * *

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Vlad's voice shouted from inside of the vacuum. His arms were pressed into his chest and his legs were smushed against his arms. He fought to maneuver his arm so that he could see his watch in order to attempt communicating with the Skulker or the Fright Knight. _Again.  
_

"Hello?" A deep voice rumbled through the speaker.

"Damn you, Skulker! Why didn't you answer before?!"

"I'm rather busy proceeding with _your_ plan, Plasmius," he growled. "Don't get snappy with me!"

"Fine, Skulker! Just," Vlad lowered his voice even though he was pretty sure that no one was eavesdropping at the moment, "Just come to the Fenton's lab to let me out..."

"Let you out? Out of what?" The smirk was detectable in his voice.

"...Out of a blasted vacuum!" Vlad told him irritably.

There was a couple moments of silence until the mechanical ghost burst out laughing; unable to reply.

"SKULKER!"

"Right, sorry. I'll be there in a minute."

Vlad could've sworn that he heard the ghost mutter a 'geez' before their conversation ended.

* * *

Time slowed in front of Danny's eyes. Fear bubbled in his chest as he saw a green skeleton lunge at his mother. Without even thinking about what he was doing, he moved his body to stand in front of her. The skeleton's glowing red eyes met with his blue ones before Danny's arm was thrown in front of the skeleton's midsection. The ribs his arm collided with were crushed with the impact and the skeleton fell to his knees.

A split second of victory overtook Danny before two more skeletons barreled into him. He could feel their bones pressed against his skin as they toppled to the ground. Danny brought his fist up to punch the one on his right. The jaw cracked and was pushed out of place as his knuckle met bone.

Danny brought up his good leg and kicked one ghost off of his body before flipping the other one underneath him. He brought up his arm again and smashed the side of his fist down on the center of the skeleton's face. The glowing green bone crushed and the red eyes faded. A green ghostly mist was left in its place as the specter was defeated.

The other one attacked him while he was still down; knocking Danny to his side and then onto his back. Its bony knee dug into his stomach as the skeleton punched the side of his face. Danny tried to catch a glimpse of his family and friends. Sam, Tucker, and Jazz were there, but his mom wasn't.

Feeling like this was his only lucky part of the entire day, he took the chance to shoot an ecto-blast from his hand into the ghost's chest. Er...ribs. The skeleton disappeared in the same way the other one had. It turned into a green mist after the red light faded from its eyes as it was shot up towards the ceiling. Danny turned his head to his friends and sister.

Sam looked at Danny in absolute amazement. _Even when he's hurt he's unstoppable. _She felt a sudden burst of pride at the fact her best friend (and crush) was the town hero.

Tucker was also astonished at his best friend's skill, yet he still wished that he was more like Danny...

Jazz was so proud that her brother-_her baby brother_-was the strong, all powerful Danny Phantom!

Danny looked at their faces through his bangs splayed across his face. He couldn't tell what was going through their minds, but surely it was good, right? He suddenly noticed the throbbing in his leg and his eyebrows creased as he started to get up.

His heart just about jumped out of his chest when a ghost coyote suddenly shot out of the living room straight at Jazz, Sam, and Tucker.

Eyes wide and pain forgotten, he hurtled himself at the ghost before it managed to reach them. They rolled across the kitchen floor. The green coyote snapped at his face, its gleaming white teeth getting too close to him. He tried twisting his body around to get out from underneath the ghost, but it managed to clamp its jaws down hard on the middle of his arm.

Danny twisted and jerked as he tried to dislodge the coyote ghost's teeth, but it just bit down harder and brought a front leg up to claw his stomach. Opening his mouth, Danny let out an anguished cry. He brought up his fist to hit the ghost in the side of its snout. Extra adrenaline boosting his strength, he knocked the specter off of him.

Relief filled his senses as the sharp teeth finally let go of his arm, although cold air rushing into the gaping wound stung pretty badly too. He sat up quickly and twisted around on the ground to face the specter again. _Damn *%#$ing everything_, he thought as his stomach burned, his leg throbbed, and his arm... _Let's just ignore that for now._

The ghost coyote got up on all fours and Danny swept his leg underneath its legs to make it tumble to the ground again. _I'm slowing down,_ he thought grimly.

"Danny!" Sam tossed him a Fenton thermos.

Catching it with inhuman reflexes, Danny uncapped it and sucked the specter into it. He stumbled a little as he made his way over to the living room doorway.

"I think-"

"Sh!" Danny cut Tucker off.

The others came up behind him as he neared the living room. Danny put a hand out in front of them as he continued looking at the doorway. He knew that Sam was going to protest the idea of him going in there by himself. He snapped his head to look at her. Danny gave her the strictest expression that he could pull off once he saw that her mouth was, in fact open.

Apparently, it worked because nobody dared to follow him as he left the kitchen.

* * *

**(This is about my usual amount and I was going to end it here, but I decided not to because I already made the last chapter a cliffhanger...So, um...yay?)**

* * *

"Next time I call you, make sure that you _answer_!" Vlad commanded sternly as he brushed off his suit.

_Ignoring that,_ Skulker thought. "Yeah. Okay, Plasmius."

"What do you mean by-"

"Nothing. Now," Skulker in a much more serious tone, "what exactly are you planning to do with the Whelp's...parents?"

Vlad smirked and put his hands behind his back as he took a few scarily calm steps, "Oh...them." He took a few more steps. "Well, Maddie, of course, will be my queen." Vlad stopped. "And Jack," he spit the name as if it were a disgusting food, "is going to die."

* * *

Danny only saw a glimpse of the nets his parents were in before several large ghosts flew out the door while holding them like wild animals. He gasped and went ghost; ready to shoot out of the house in search of them. Something knocked into him and they both landed on the ground with a thump. _Another ghost?!_ Danny punched the ghost in the face in a panic- _oh, it's Tucker._

"What the hell, man?!" Tucker said while trying to stop the flow of blood from his nose.

"Tuck, I'm so sorry! Here let me-" Danny moved to stand up to get his best friend a tissue, but all of his energy sapped in one second once the adrenaline rush was over. Danny let himself completely fall lax as his body screamed at him. He felt his ankle throbbing along to his headache, and the scores on his stomach burned as he laid on his side. The worst pain was in his arm.

"I'm sorry, Tucker. I thought that-"

"Dude! I know! But really, I can get my own tissue. But you can't leave the house. Not yet."

"...Why?!"

Danny was suddenly aware of Sam kneeling down beside him as she lifted his arm as gently as possible in her cold hands. He didn't even know he was making a sound until Sam said, "Sorry, sorry, sorry!"

Looking up at her, he managed a small crooked grin before Jazz kneeled down too.

"Here's the first-aid kit."

Sam grimaced as she examined his arm, "Any farther up and his median cubital vein would be tor-"

"_La la la!_ I don't want to think about it!" Jazz said rather loudly.

Danny laughed at his sister. Plus, he had no idea what Sam was talking about. He also happened to feel extremely tired and delirious...

"What's so funny?" Sam asked suspiciously as she cleaned his arm before Jazz would sew it up.

"Jazz sounded like she did when we used to fight..." Danny answered her distantly. "Not that we don't anymore..." He added.

Jazz smirked while Sam and Tucker laughed. Tucker sounded funny with the tissue covering his nose.

Danny laughed again.

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**I really don't want school to start. I'm trying to update as much as I can before I get too busy...**

**Please review for me!:D**


	14. Chapter 14

**I don't own DP. WHO KNEW?! ;D Ha.**

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Danny breathed in slowly and then let it out through his mouth. On the living room couch laid Danny Fenton. A boy whose ankle had been broken, had surgery, whose arch enemy stayed at his home, whose town was invaded while he was down, whose arm had been shredded and his stomach had been scratched, and last but not least, whose parents had been kidnapped by some evil ghosts.

His mind was hazy and throbbing while the rest of his body burned and throbbed along with it. A few seconds passed before everything sunk in. He gasped and swung his legs off the couch. His entire being protested against the movement of standing, but his stubborn mind completely blocked that out. Walking across the room slowly and weakly - unlike his usual strong,confident stride - he made his way to the front door. Hand on the cold doorknob, he twisted it halfway until a smaller hand snatched his hand away from it.

"Dammit, Danny! Are you trying to act like a 4 year old?! We shouldn't have to tell you to stay put!"

"And I can't let those ghosts take my parents!" His voice came out much stronger than he felt. "Do you honestly expect me to not do anything?" His voice rose, "Do you know me at all?!"

Despite the hurt that Sam felt at his words, she rose her voice as well, "Do _you_ expect me to let you go out that door against that many ghosts by yourself? Especially as injured as you are?"

"Yes! Because that's my job! And those are my parents! And-"

Danny's rant was cut short as a high pitched scream was heard from outside. He twisted the knob and flung the door open; Sam looking out from behind him.

People were being abducted by ghosts and being taken away through the sky. Countless of people's cries could be heard as they were scooped up off the ground and carried away in the arms of evil glowing specters; their voices fading as they were flown farther away.

Sam didn't even have a chance to stop him before Danny had transformed and bulleted over to the nearest person being kidnapped. She watched with dread as Danny punched the burly ghost in the jaw with his good arm and attempted to take the victim from its grasp. The ghost continued to hold the person in one arm while it brought the other one around to smack Danny across the face.

Hearing his skin being smacked from so far away, Sam gasped and then cried out as Danny was thrown aside by a kick to his abdomen. She saw his mouth open in a gasp of pain, but then he jumped back up like the brave boy she knew he was. Another ghost flew over to the fight behind Danny. It held a gun in its arms and pointed it at Danny's back.

Sam saw him pull the trigger and screamed as the bullet hit Danny square in the back as he was still struggling with the burly ghost. Danny froze and the two ghosts both laughed together as they pushed him to the ground. The person in the burly ghosts hold cried out the town hero's name before she was taken away like all the others.

Stifling sobs, Sam ran over to Danny's crumpled form. Her breaths came out in gasps and her chest heaved she reached his side. _Oh my God. Oh my God, they killed him. Nobody can get shot in the back like that and survive_. Salty tears ran down her face and into her mouth as she gasped for air. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she realized he hadn't reverted back to his human form.

Placing her trembling hands on his body to turn him over, she took a deep breath. Sam rolled him over as gently as she could and caught sight of his back.

...

It wasn't bleeding. Her heart filled with hope.

What was in his back was a dart. A dart!

She laughed and wiped the tears off her face in slight embarrassment. _Well,_ she thought, _I just made a big scene for no reason at all. _She pulled the dart carefully out of his back.

Suddenly, Danny's body stiffened and his eyes shot open. "Agh!" He twisted around and tried to escape the source of the pain.

Sam was perplexed. _Weren't darts usually used as tranquilizers? If so, shouldn't he be out cold?_

Danny's face was beaded with sweat; his face drawn in a grimace. "I hate ghosts..."

Sam laughed a little in relief, "You're half ghost, idiot." She snaked her arm underneath his back and lifted him off the asphalt. Trying to ignore his discomfort, she hefted him up and slung his arm around her shoulders and held it there.

They began making their way back over to the house. Danny's movements were extremely stiff and growing more painful.

"Can we stop for a second?" He asked in a winded voice.

Sam glanced around the street. A few ghosts were still around and she didn't want to take any chances. The air was dank and it sent shivers down her spine. The supernatural tended to have that effect, but no matter how many times she felt it, it never got any more comfortable to endure.

Since there were more ghosts than usual, it was especially strong.

"Um, Danny..." She discreetly nodded her head over in the direction of a glowing green ghost in the distance, "That just might not be the best idea at the moment, so let's keep moving."

Danny was trying his best - he really was. But that dart had affected his muscle control. Everything grew stiff, and it was an effort to just move his leg forward. It was as if his body was quickly freezing over while burning intensely at the same time. His heart jumped in his throat as he was forced to surrender more of his weight to Sam.

The burning sensation tried to consume him. He sucked in a deep cleansing breath and used all of his strength to move his body towards his house with Sam's help.

_I never get a break, do I?_

The feeling of freezing air clawing its way through his chest and out of his mouth made him shiver. Sam cast a fleeting glance at him before picking up the pace. Together, they stumbled up the concrete steps and practically fell through the door that was still ajar. Sam scrambled back up off the floor and shut the door carefully to make sure that it wouldn't catch a ghost's attention outside.

Feeling a wave of relief wash over her, she turned back to Danny. Her stomach dropped as she looked at him. He was face-up on the floor; gasping like a fish out of water. His chest expanded and contacted rapidly like he couldn't get enough air into his lungs. The audible ragged gasps that came from his mouth sent fear through Sam's body as if someone had set her insides on fire.

She dropped down to her knees and crawled over to him before placing a hand on his forehead. He was sweating bullets and his skin was clammy as if he was running a fever. Sam looked up as she heard the sound of someone entering the room; shoes thumping across the wooden floor.

"What the hell happened now?" Tucker's voice rang through the silent room.

Sam let out a shaky breath as she replied, "We need to take him to Frostbite."

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**School starts soon... DESPAIR. **

**I really appreciate your reviews so much! Please continue to tell me what you think!(:**


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